The BRIX Report Vol VIII: MAX JOY

“ M A X J OY ”

TWIN CITIES TIME MACHINE What did your grandparents do for fun in the Twin Cities? What did their grandparents do? The answer will shock you.

LLAMAS, PRINCESSES, & YUM The Minnesota State Fair is a deep-fried mess of fun and joy. Find three hidden gems that you cannot miss next year.

JUICY LUCY ORIGINS, REVEALED New developments in the eternal Twin Cities mystery of the Juicy Lucy and its origin. You will not believe the story.

BRIX Real Estate is a boutique brokerage operating in the Twin Cities that puts clients first in every respect.

By celebrating and refining the craft of real estate, participating in the betterment of our local community and taking great pride in the relationships we build, we work tirelessly to provide exceptional service and an elegant, streamlined approach to every aspect of our service.

BRIX ST. PAUL

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1390 7th Street West St. Paul, MN 55102

101 Burnsville Parkway, Suite 200 Burnsville, MN 55337

748 North 3rd Street, Suite 100 Minneapolis, MN 55401

BRIX STILLWATER

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124 2nd Street, Suite 110 Stillwater, MN 55082

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BRIXTWINCITIES.COM 612-927-2749

· T OF CONTENTS T E N T S · TA B L E N O C F O E L B A LE ONTENTS · T O N T E N T S · TA B S · TA B L E O F C S · TA B L E O F C T N E T N O C E OF CONTENT F O E OF C TA B L E N T E N T S · TA B L F CONTENTS · O O C E F L B O A E T L · B S A T T · N TS CONTE LE OF CONTEN O N T E N T S · TA B C F O E L B A T · ENTS

F CONTENT E N T S · TA B L E O T N O C F O E L B · TA N T E N T S · TA OF CONTENTS · TA B L E O F C O T E N T S · TA B L E S T N N O E C T F N O O C E L F B O A T E N T E N T S · TA B L N T S · TA B L E · TA B L E O F C O BLE OF CONTE A T · S T N E T N O OF CONTENTS C N T S · TA B L E O F BLE OF CONTE C O N T E N T S · TA

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Letter from BRIX

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3 Things You Must See at the Minnesota StateDIFair BROWN

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Generational Fun

BY BRAN

BY ANDY STURDEVANT

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The (Adjective) History of the Juicy Lucy BY TRACY MUMFORD

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Minnesota Movie Madness hanson

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BRIXy & The Order of the Symbol BY luke finsaas

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Home is Where Your Inner Child is BY kristy hanson

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BRIX BASH The Recap

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Market Report

BY kristy

L

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X I R B M O R LETTER F Sometimes, you've just gotta cut loose. Open the windows and let the wind blow through your hair.

Pull out the old guitar and try that solo you nailed all those years ago. Put on those pumps and head to the cocktail bar with your pals.

Sometimes, you've just gotta have some fun.

Especially when the world doesn't feel fun. Internationally, we're piling crisis on war on crisis — Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, China/Taiwan — and our country doesn't look much better, plagued with rising polarization, inequality, and many other issues. The mess may be our new reality — or at least for awhile.

Giving attention to all the issues is important. We've tried hunkering down, doomscrolling, and letting worry wrinkle our faces. But it's also important to remember that there is joy, fun, and play out there — in spite of all the darkness.

That's why The BRIX Report is going all in on fun this year. Imaginative stories, quirky articles, and fun ideas that will bring a smile to your face (we hope). We're here to celebrate the joy that courses through the Twin Cities, through our friends and family, through our restaurants and artists and musicians and all the beautiful things that our community is cultivating.

You'll read about three activities that Brandi Brown cannot miss at the Minnesota State Fair. Andy Sturdevant takes us time traveling, peering back into our cities' deep history of fun and entertainment; BRIX Report veteran Tracy Mumford blows the lid on the origins of the Juicy Lucy (please send all Juicy Lucy-related diatribes to kirk@ brixtwincities.com); and Luke Finsaas joins BRIXy, the BRIX Real Estate mascot, on his zany quest to become a 'real' mascot while Kristy Hanson’s meditation on transitions and childhood homes grounds this year’s issue.

As always, you'll find the BRIX Market Report in the back pages of this magazine. There you'll find key data points regarding neighborhoods around the Twin Cities and our guidance for 2024.

We hope you enjoy this eighth edition of The BRIX Report and have a beautiful, exuberant year filled with MAXIMUM JOY. — BRIX Real Estate

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3 things you must see at the Minnesota State Fair words by Brandi Brown

Good luck making it through a Minnesota summer without hearing about “The Great Minnesota Get Together” aka The Minnesota State Fair, our 12-day extravaganza ending on Labor Day. If you plan to visit, here are three of my favorite lesser-known attractions.

Coronation of Princess Kay of the Milky Way Where

Leinie Lodge Bandshell Stage, between Cooper Street and Cosgrove Street just north of the Space Tower

Each year, a different young woman is selected by the Midwest Dairy Association to travel the state, giving talks and making public appearances on behalf of Minnesota dairy farmers. Her official title is Princess Kay of the Milky Way. In order to be eligible, a potential princess must work on dairy farms, raise dairy cattle, or have parents who raise dairy cattle. Just liking dairy isn’t enough, you have to be immersed in dairy (but not literally.)

The coronation is, at times, reminiscent of beauty pageants of yesteryear. There’s a silky-voiced emcee in a tuxedo, a live-band, and ten county dairy princesses in evening gowns answering questions with poise and awkwardly waving at the audience. Instead of swimsuits and a talent show, the contestants parade their knowledge of the dairy industry and passion for teaching others about dairy.

You’ll also learn what many finalists plan to do with the giant sculpture of their own heads

When

The Wednesday evening before the State Fair opening day

carved into a 90-lb block of butter that they will get to take home. During the course of the State Fair, each finalist will sit and have her likeness carved into a block of butter by a master butter sculptor. And you can watch. The new Princess Kay of the Milky Way, in her tiara and sash will be the first of the women to spend six hours bundled up and on display in a 40° F booth while the butter carver is hard at work.

Dying to know what Princess Kay does with that butter? Spoiler: Hosts a corn or potato feed (a picnic with corn on the cob or potatoes) or puts it in the freezer for a special occasion like a wedding or, I don’t know, the opening of a new Dairy Queen?

At the end of the night, amidst tears, cheers, and hugs, bid adieu to the outgoing Princess Kay and welcome the newest Princess Kay. In a few hours she must be back at the Fairgrounds to begin her year spreading charm and lactose tolerance across the great state of Minnesota.

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4-H llama and alpaca costume contest Where

Lee and Rose Warner Coliseum (Costumes): on the south side of Judson Avenue between Liggett and Clough St. Compeer Arena (Obstacle Course): north side of Judson Avenue west of the Horse Barn

Once, when I invited a friend to attend the 4-H llama and alpaca costume contest, his response was, “I don’t have a llama costume.” This would not be the first time someone misunderstood one of the most popular and delightful events at the MN State Fair.

See, it’s not you who needs a costume.

The costume competition is one part of the three-day 4-H Llama-Alpaca State Fair experience. Thousands crowd into the coliseum to cheer on 50+ duos. The duo consists of a costumed 4-H student (teens and tweens) and a llama or alpaca.

When

The costume contest takes place each year on the only Wednesday of the Minnesota State Fair.

The 4-H obstacle/PR course takes place the next day.

The kids craft elaborate costumes for themselves and their animal companion. Previous memorable costumes include: Barbie and a llama dressed up as Ken in the Barbiemobile; a pilot leading a llama wearing an elaborate airplane; the Grinch with an alpaca dressed like “Max” the dog and a llama dressed like a giant taco.

If you haven’t had enough of children trying to keep their camelid livestock under control, the following day you can see the 4-H’ers guide their llamas and alpacas around, over, and through a variety of obstacles. Have you ever seen an alpaca with a mullet look skeptically at a giant teddy bear while a child pleads quietly with an indifferent llama to please, please, just walk sideways? Because I have and it’s awesome.

The 4-H Arts-In Where

4-H Building, the east side of Cosgrove Street at the intersection of Wright Avenue

The first time I stumbled upon the 4-H Arts-in, I was just looking to get out of the sun with my frosty root beer. Suddenly, 30 costumed high schoolers, backed by a band, started singing a medley of jungle-themed songs including “It’s a Jungle Out There” and “Welcome to the Jungle.”

Students and adult volunteers from across the state spend 10 days before the fair pulling together a musical from scratch. Including, building a set with sound and lights, learning songs as performers and the band, and designing costumes.

After 10 days of this theater camp, they’re ready for their final project: a musical they perform multiple times a day.

When

Several times per day during the entire fair, check the schedule for the exact show times.

When I first stumbled into their jungle-themed musical, I was entranced.

What was the musical about besides jungle?

I don’t remember. The plots are always scant.

Was it the best musical I’ve ever seen? No. But audiences always enjoyed themselves and the kids on stage were also having the time of their lives, performing multiple times per day in a hot building. You will too.

Follow my example: grab a cold beverage and a Pronto Pup (a corndog made with pancake batter instead of cornbread batter), make your way to the 4-H building, and enjoy the show.

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GENERATIONAL FUN words by

A N D Y S T U R D E VA N T

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O

ne night in 1989, my twenty-ish year old babysitter told me that she felt bad for me. According to her, I missed the golden age of fun, the late 1970s, and fun would never be as fun again. I am paraphrasing from memory, but her words were something to the effect of “we had the best movies and arcade games and you could go wherever you wanted. I was your age when my parents split up and I spent all day in the woods behind the house having the funnest time.”

Since then, I have been acutely aware that “fun” is a generational construct. I am sure I have told more than one disinterested GenZer that I am sorry they missed the freewheeling 1990s, which was my golden age of fun.

In that spirit, I will attempt to identify a golden age of fun for Twin Cities residents on a generational basis, starting today and stretching back eight or nine generations. For the full effect, append the following sentence, with blanks filled in, to each scenario: “Your [father / mother / uncle / aunt / babysitter / older mentor / etc.] makes a face, and sneers:

‘You may think [primary attraction of presentday scenario] is something, but that’s kid stuff.

Now I [saw/went to] [primary attraction of 25-year-earlier scenario] in [year]. Now that was something! That was back when they really knew how to have a good time.’”

YOU SHOULD GO ASK A YOUNG PERSON. I AM 45 YEARS OLD. MY IDEA OF A GOOD TIME IS SLEEPING PAST 8:00 A.M.

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1999

Call 1-900-NEW-FUNK, Prince’s dedicated telephone hotline, and see if maybe you can somehow get an invitation to see him record Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic at Paisley Park. Gwen Stefani and Eve are on that album, so you may run into them, too.

Personal note: this was the last time I had fun.

1973

Less fun: first-come-first-serve tickets to see Led Zeppelin at the St. Paul Civic Center in July. Think 17,000 people with “festival seating” (that is, the floor), it’s way too hot, and people are throwing firecrackers. More fun: Gram Parsons playing two nights in the basement coffee shop at Coffman Union in April.

1949

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Matinee of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is playing at the Roxy Theater on Plymouth Avenue. Not one of their better films, but Fredy’s Cafe, Sol’s Groceries, Baron’s Liquors, and Edith Peck’s beauty shop are within a few blocks, so you can make an afternoon of it afterwards. Sling back some bourbon and get a perm.

1924 If your idea of fun involves booze, you are hopefully socially well-connected or have a steely risk tolerance.

It’s Prohibition after all. If you’re well-connected, you’re headed to the Hollyhocks Club in St. Paul, the poshest speakeasy around. If you only have friends in low places, get a prescription for some “medicinal” whiskey from old man Merwin’s pharmacy and hope you don’t wind up at the Swedish Hospital.

1899

Beers, cigars, pool and a show by the Eureka Brass Band at the Eureka at 384 Minnesota Street, the only Black-owned salon in the Twin Cities. Maybe the great St. Paul heavyweight champion and boxer, W.H. Butt, will be singing that night. He was known to have fists of steel and the voice of an angel.

1873 Before baseball was an American pastime, it was real time. Big crosstown rivalry baseball game today!

It’s the amateur Unknowns, champion of the West Side division versus the Eastside champions the Ætnas, on Chicago Avenue.

1849

Here are some items you can have sent to you via steamboat from Galena, Illinois to the Lower Landing in St. Paul: playing cards, “reward books for children and youth,” toys, brandied cherries, bags of coffee, Turkish chewing and smoking tobacco, bacon, clay pipes and candy. Stock up for the winter! Once the river freezes over, the tobacco in your pocket is all you’ve got.

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by TRACY MUMFORD

What’s the history of one of Minnesota’s most notorious entrees? You’re about to help write it. Fill in the blanks using the corresponding parts of speech.

A quick reminder: Nouns are objects (napkin, camel), adjectives are descriptive words (sticky, puzzling), verbs are actions (ponder, gasp), and adverbs modify actions (wildly, tiredly). The rest is up to you.

As you may know, the Juicy Luicy is a burger stuffed with cheese. People think it’s

It’s hard to pinpoint when this burger can be traced back

ADJECTIVE

NUMBER

tradition began. Some say Minnesota’s most

years, to the

LAST NAME

.

ADJECTIVE

restaurant.

The family-run establishment was once thriving, but after a tornado brought a crashing through the

ADJECTIVE

LARGE NOUN

, business slowed down. Some days, no one came by, not even a

ROOM IN A HOUSE

or a

.

S E A CREATURE

LO W LEVEL GOVERNMENT OFFI C I A L

The family tried to think of on a

F O O D ITEM

NOUN

and

F O O D ITEM

ADJECTIVE

NOUN

Finally, a talking

ANIMAL

recipe for the cost of a

ideas to bring back the customers. Should they serve

? Should they stuff a

FOOD ITEM

into a

NOUN

? Should they put

in a blender, for a new milkshake flavor? They tried everything.

showed up one day and said: “I’ll sell you my secret,

ADJECTIVE

.”

TYPE OF CAR

The family quickly paid the price, and they followed the recipe exactly. It called for: •

SPICE

•

PRO TEIN

•

CLEANIN G PRODUCT

Critics called it a only in

NUMBER LIQUID

. It made people

VERB

ADVERB

. They sold

:

hot it burns your .”

NOUN

. The family business closed, but they left a note for the next owners, scribbled

“We’re moving to

A D VERB

ADJECTIVE

LOCATION BODY PART

. We tried everything, except for filling a burger with cheese that’s so . Maybe Minnesotans will love that. Good luck, proceed

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MINNESOTA MOVI MADNESS

by KRISTY HANSON

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I’ve lived in a few states – Colorado, Virginia, Wisconsin, a brief stint in Hawaii – and now I live in Amsterdam.

When folks ask me where I’m from, all throughout the states and now abroad, I often hear, “Minnesota? Where’s that?” or “never been there” or “it gets cold there right?”

Yes, I tell them with pride, it does get cold here. I could also tell them about the broad highways, the number of couches and trucks on the ice come February, the quiet splendor of a snowy night, the muggy heat of a mosquitofilled beach, endless fields of corn and soy.

OR…. I could show them Tammy smoking a cigarette on the tractor in a field of corn right before she explodes.

The mad brawl between two of our nation’s greatest actors in MOA’s lobby over a sold-out toy. The gorgeous landscape of Jennifer’s Body.

These movies are fiction, but they all carry a seed of truth within them. The cheerful optimism of Amber Atkins, the semi-exaggerated language and highways of Fargo, the humble we-can-do-it of the Mighty Ducks skating in that V formation.

Maybe my non-MN friends are sick of hearing me cackle over those insider Drop Dead Gorgeous jokes (I should save those for the Sin Cities, aka Minneapolis / St. Paul),

but I find joy in sharing the quirks of my home-town with others.

I’ve cultivated a stroll down movie memory lane here.

Besides sharing with friends, it’s good for warming our own nostalgic hearts. Not only can you watch these movies on your TV / laptops, you can go pay a visit. Eat some hashbrowns for me. Elongate your vowels. Drive those country roads.

JINGLE ALL THE WAY Mall of America Like most 90s kids, I spent the bulk of my time going to the average mall, in the mall, or partying in the strip mall’s parking lot. But the MOA is anything but average. In my friend group, an MOA trip was an event that required cold, hard cash, a plan of action, and a visit to Rainforest Cafe. The MOA stars in a few cinematic masterpieces, but none stand above my memory of Jingle All the Way. Mr. Schwarzenegger, the Last Action Hero, in my state?

The emotional turmoil of trying to win back the love and admiration of his child, only to realize his enemy Sinbad, another great actor of his time, was simply trying to do the same? Life-changing.

IE DROP DEAD GORGEOUS Wagner Bros Orchard & Bakery A bit macabre – in the movie, this location is the Larson Funeral home where Amber Atkins does the make-up for the recently deceased. Luckily for us, in real life, it’s a legit orchard and bakery you can visit hardly an hour’s drive out of the Twin Cities. Go pick some apples and stock up on all the baked goods of your dreams

JENNIFER’S BODY Devil’s Kettle This was a total flop at the box office and later turned into a cult classic. Devil’s Kettle is a gorgeous type of waterfall that contains a deep, dark mystery befitting of the film.

The water goes into a basin, but nobody knows where it empties out. Devil’s Kettle is a longer drive than most movie locations on this list, but would be great for a long weekend getaway, barring any sort of demonic possession.

BRIX SHORTS Twin Cities Lest we forget our award-winning All in the Neighborhood short films featuring small businesses in the Twin Cities area! Take a loved one with you for some eats at Smack Shack, a drink at Handsome Hog (formerly Fitzgerald’s), a hat-fitting at Heimie’s Haberdashery. Stroll through Mears Park and call your real estate agent. Just to say hi.

MIGHTY DUCKS Mickey’s Diner How long has it been since you quacked, full of hope and good cheer surrounded by semi-professional child actors?

You know what, don’t tell me. I’ll tell you: TOO LONG. It’s been too long since your heart swole with Mighty Duck pride. Here at Mickey’s Diner in downtown St. Paul, hard-hearted Gordon met Joshua Jackson’s on-screen mom. Over hashbrowns, eggs, and a not-so-decent cup of coffee, love blossomed. You might not find love here, but depending on what time of day you go, you’ll find a listening ear or two. At the time of publishing, Mickey’s is closed for renovations. But don’t worry – like the Mighty Ducks themselves, nobody can keep Mickey’s down.

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THE ADVENTURES OF BRIXY

BR IXY & THE ORDER OF THE SYM BOL

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by LUKE FINSAAS

“There are mascots and there are Mascots,” said BRIXy. “And I want to be a capital-m Mascot.”

We sipped Old-Fashioneds while playing pool by the big window overlooking Hennepin Avenue at The Hewing Hotel. Every so often, bundled-up people would stop and look at us, a curious pair: BRIXy with his boxy red body, white gloves, big smile; me, a regular guy in a pullover sweater. He’d been enjoying a long overdue staycation on the fourth floor and the time away had him thinking about a mysterious invitation he’d received last summer.

“They’re called The Order of the Symbol,” he said, lining up a shot. “They’ve invited me to be Initiated.

All the big Mascots are a part of it, apparently.”

He struck the cue ball and missed, the yellow striped ball rolling off to a corner.

“Order of the Symbol — that sounds ominous,” I said. “So what, they’ll teach you how to be a ‘real’ Mascot?”

BRIXy sighed. “Everyone thinks there’s nothing to it. Put on a big suit, walk around, wave. A real Mascot makes you feel.”

“And you want to make people feel.”

“And I want you to follow me. Write about it for The BRIX Report.”

“Well, I have to ask Kirk and Danny,” I said. “But I like the idea.”

“Screw those guys,” said BRIXy. “This is bigger than them. This is about me becoming who I’m meant to be.”

Jack Flimp, Wizard, at His Desk · 1997

M

BRIXy Tells Writer About Invitation

udonna, the Saint Paul Saints’ Mascot, had approached BRIXy at a benefit soirée for Spotlight Safety, an org that helped pay for Mascots’ injuries: tripping down steep stadium steps, rotator cuffs frayed by firing t-shirt cannons night after night, crashing into backboards after being launched from a giant slingshot, etc. Most of the local chapter’s funds were used by Crunch, apparently, though he was also the group’s main draw. The Timberwolf spent the whole night at a candlelit table in the back, a steady stream of business executives and local politicians waiting to kiss the paw.

“If you want to be a real Mascot,” said Mudonna. “If you want to really cheer on BRIX Real Estate — make a real difference — this is the next level. Give me a call when you’re ready.”

I

left the Hewing Hotel and poked around online. There wasn’t much on ‘The Order of The Symbol”, save for an ancient website, each page signed by ‘Jack Flimp, Wizard.’

According to Mr. Flimp, this ancient cabal doesn’t just run the world. The OTS birthed Civilization itself. Think about it. Before someone invented ’The Symbol,’ could you have a King? ‘The King’ is itself a symbol — it’s what makes the guy the King. No symbol and he’s just some guy bossing everyone around. Or so goes Flimp's argument.

I could only find passing mentions of Mascots. According to Flimp, they’re members

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Xcel Energy Center at Night

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of the lowest tier of the OTS, those who only know how to channel a group’s energy (along with comedians, motivational speakers, and theater directors). Most of the wizard’s ‘research’ focused on higher tier members who had learned the mystical arts of directing energy, folks like Joan of Arc, Mahatma Gandhi, Barack Obama, etc.

The whole thing sounded dubious, outrageous, and hilarious.

I messaged BRIXy: I’m in

W

e made nervous chitchat behind the Xcel Energy Center. The letterpressed card in BRIXy's glove said to be at the alley door at 11:57PM, sharp, with the card and a forty pound sack of dry rice. BRIXy wasn’t his normal bubbly self.

“Are you nervous?” I asked.

His body rotated a little, pondering the question. “I guess, well… what if I’m not good enough?”

I laughed. “I think if Mudonna is an ‘initiate’, you’ll be just fine.”

BRIXy tilted and froze. “Mudonna is a legend,” he said. “I don’t know if I should be bringing you if you’re gonna make stupid —” A loud bang. Then the door was open, revealing an empty hallway lined with small candles. Red emergency lights added a real creepy vibe to the passage.

"If you don't want me here, I can leave," I said, backing away from the doorway.

“Come on,” he grumbled.

We walked into the bowels of the Xcel. A strange sound grew louder: a heavy regular beat with an intermittent scream. Metal pipes went every direction overhead, disappearing into the shadows. The air swirled with incense and the smell of old sweat. The sound grew unbearably loud as the trail of candles led us out into the stadium and to the dark ice.

“I think I’ll wait here,” I said at the edge of the Wild’s rink. “Good luck.”

BRIXy nodded.

The moment his boot touched the ice, the cacophony stopped.

A pair of headlights flipped on.

The Zamboni.

A large beast stood astride the driver’s seat. He let out a howl and two flamejets lit the scene. Nordy, the Mascot for the Wild, wielding a pair of flamethrowers.

The team boxes were lined with other Twin Cities Mascots: Goldy Gopher, Prowl, Mudonna, PK Loon, Crunch, TC Bear, Viktor the Viking. They began to pound the ice with hockey sticks, chanting words I couldn’t decipher, getting louder and louder until they stopped all at once.

“Does the one called BRIXy desire to be true to the cheer?” screamed Nordy.

“I do,” BRIXy half-whispered.

“Then run!”

Nordy Atop His 'Zambone'

The Zamboni leapt forward and BRIXy — still carrying the forty pound bag of dry rice — scrambled to the side, barely avoiding the careening mad ice doctor. The beast howled to the starless sky, spinning the wheel with his foot paw (impressive). The vehicle turned on a dime — something BRIXy was not ready for and the Zamboni sent him and the rice sprawling across the ice like a pinball batted by a flipper. I finally deciphered what the Mascots were chanting, though the meaning was still confusing: “Bug on the windshield. Bug on the windshield.”

BRIXy got to his feet and faced down the Zamboni. Matador on ice. Nordy revved the machine, shot flames, and let out another blood-curdling howl.

I took out my phone to take a video but it wouldn’t turn on — dead battery. But I'd charged it that afternoon? Strange. I caught a glimpse of BRIXy again leaping out of the vehicle’s sweeping turning radius.

He did it again and again and again, each time the howling and chanting and flames getting bigger. I could tell BRIXy was losing steam — then I thought he’d lost his mind. He took off running across the ice in a straight line — no zig zags — and Nordy closed the distance quick. Just as the vehicle was going to pancake our red friend into the ice, BRIXy turned, leapt, and bearhugged the front of the Zamboni.

Cheers erupted from the players’ boxes.

“L

isten close, Initiate,” said Prowl, Mascot for the Lynx. “A Mascot is the invisible thread that weaves together a sea of beating hearts. We are the spirit of Prowl Gives a Speech

Viktor Fires the T-Shirt Cannon

the stands made manifest. You have learned how to hear the crowd. Now you must learn to feel the crowd, to let it guide you.”

We were gathered on the Stone Arch Bridge, eerily empty. The Mascots stood in a semi-circle around BRIXy in robes, the Mississippi churning below in the dark. A paw touched my back and I met the red eyes of PK the Loon. He motioned for me to move aside. He walked toward BRIXy with a long black strip of cloth laid over his outstretched arms / foam wings.

“You must ride the waves of their emotion,” Prowl continued, as PK tied the blindfold tight over BRIXy’s eyes. “When you feel lost in the vastness, when the heat of the suit weighs upon you, and the cheers seem but a distant murmur, close your eyes. Feel the beat of your heart, the rhythm of your breath, and remember why you chose to don this mask – to bring joy, to inspire, and to become their passion incarnate. For within you is the power to turn a game into a legend, an event.”

Thud-Thud.

BRIXy stumbled back against the wall of the bridge. A vacuum-sealed t-shirt rolled down the sidewalk. I swiveled. Viktor the Viking stood in the bike path with a shoulder-mounted t-shirt cannon, lining up his next shot. He fired. BRIXy took it right in the gut, crumpling to his knees.

“Feel!” Prowl screamed. “You must feel where the shirt will be!”

Around me, the Mascots began to hum.

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BRIXy got to his feet and twisted his body side to side, shaking off the failures. He planted himself.

“Again!” shouted BRIXy. Viktor fired and the red brick man leapt directly into the missile’s vector, sending him reeling across the sidewalk. He got up, dusted himself off.

“Again!”

Soon, the sidewalk was filled with vacuumsealed t-shirts and BRIXy was actually, kinda, somehow, figuring out how to do it. He was dodging a t-shirt cannon from fifteen feet, blindfolded — very impressive. When he evaded three in a row, the humming stopped.

“Are you ready?” said Prowl.

BRIXy nodded, his whole torso tilting up and down as one.

PK stepped out of the crowd and led the blindfolded mascot to the wall and helped him step up. I wanted to shout — you’re going to die! you’re going to be knocked off a bridge by a t-shirt cannon and wash up in New Orleans! — but I couldn’t speak. I was dumbfounded. BRIXy turned to face us.

“Become the thread,” said Prowl. “Become the spirit of the stands.”

Thud.

BRIXy twisted left and the t-shirt sailed out over the dark waters.

View from the IDS Center, Artist's Rendition

W

The vans approach

ithin minutes, four black antique van-taxis appeared on the bridge. We crammed in and I sat next to T.C. Bear; he did not look at me.

The windows were tinted pitch black and within a few turns, I was totally disoriented. When we finally stopped, the doors opened to an empty garage. I followed the Mascots to a large freight elevator.

That bridge thing, I thought, was not safe. At all.

The elevator doors opened and all of Minneapolis spread out below us. It took me a second to get my bearings and when I did, I did not feel better. We were on the roof of the IDS Center. The group led BRIXy to a pair of large duffel bags, lit in a circle of tealights.

Crunch stepped forward.

“Now it is time for you to learn to become a vessel,” said the Timberwolf. “In the heart of the heart of the arena, there is a silence, an eternal still point.

You must find this silence; you must become it. Our movements, our gestures, they are not our own — we become a thousand hearts beating as one. Empty yourself, BRIXy. Let each breath clear your mind, like wind sweeping across a still pond. Find the true freedom of the mask.”

Crunch reached down and swung one of the duffel bags over his back. He began snapping straps and clips together. It took me a moment to understand. Duffle bags were not duffle bags: they were parachutes.

Mudonna and Goldy Gopher helped BRIXy into his.

They were going to jump off the IDS Center, in the middle of the night, for bonkers half-baked transcendental nonsense. I found my voice and

stepped forward.

“BRIXy — don’t do this,” I said. “Do you even know how to BASE jump? This is so dangerous. You don’t have to do this. Let’s just go.”

He didn’t look at me.

“Are you ready, BRIXy?” said Crunch, his eyes glinting.

The red brick tilted back and forth: yes.

Crunch grabbed his arm and they sprinted to the edge of the building, me behind them yelling BRIXy, nooo! They leapt and disappeared from view.

I got to the edge panting and peered down the sheer glass walls of the building. Two parachutes were floating down toward the river, the first light of dawn catching silver on its surface.

When I turned around, the Mascots, the tea lights, everything — gone. I was alone.

B

RIXy disappeared for two days. I tried texting, calling, showing up at his house. We all did — Danny, Kirk, Adam, Jessica, many of the other agents. Had I dreamed it all up? Was I going mad? But the fact remained: no one could get a hold of him. I was convinced that he’d broken a leg and this ‘Order,’ which was probably all some bizarre practical joke, had left him out in the woods to die. Or worse.

Finally, a text: hey. BRIXy was alive.

I texted back: coffee, Spyhouse NE, now.

When he arrived, I could not do small talk.

“Where have you been?” I asked. “What happened?”

BRIXy tilted back a little, slight chuckle. He seemed BRIXy and Writer Reconnect

Crunch before BASEjumping

relaxed, like the guy had just spent a week in a spa.

“It’s hard to explain,” said BRIXy. “I still don’t understand everything that happened. There was actually a lot of stuff.”

“You didn’t think to call?”

He shrugged.

“Well, are you at least ‘initiated’?” I glared at him.

“I passed.” His eternal smile seemed to take on a knowing grin, his gaze drifting to the reclaimed wooden rafters. “But I realized that at the end of the day, I’m not just a mascot. Don’t get me wrong: I love being BRIXy. The smell of foam, the smile on a kid’s face — I love it. But BRIX isn’t a sports team. We’re here to help people buy and sell their home. You know I’m an agent, right? Becoming water and wind is not the point. I realized a ’real’ Mascot can’t be all about real estate. And that’s what I’m here for.”

I took in what he’d said for a moment. “You know, I could have told you that a week ago.”

BRIXy laughed. “It’s just like T.S. Eliot says: at the end of all our exploring, we’ll arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

“What are you talking about?”

He turned that big smile to me. “What I’m saying is: sometimes you have to BASE jump off the IDS Center with Crunch to find out that you’re already a real one.” · THE END ·

21

Home is Where Your

22

Inner Child is by KRISTY HANSON

I

was a sophomore in college, still blissful in my dorm-room life, not yet thinking about the future, when I got the following text from my parents:

At first I thought, impossible. They couldn’t sell the house. This was my childhood home in

Wyoming, Minnesota, one of two places I grew up. The first one I remember was in White Bear Lake, on a cul de sac. I remember its red-orange siding and back deck. There was a sunflower that reached all the way to the second floor. I only remember the sunflower because there’s a great picture of my preschool sister standing next to it holding a baby.

I have no idea who that baby is, but I have fond memories of the house – learning how to ride a bike, making kool-aid for the first time all by myself, my sister sneakily cutting her bangs and hiding under the roll-top desk to hide from my parents. We moved when I was five years old.

While the first house in White Bear Lake feels like a faint memory — almost like a vacation I took long ago — the second house feels like home, even to this day. I grew up there. I became a full person within those four walls.

There’s the unfinished basement* I learned to rollerblade in. The garage where I tried Sour Apple Pucker for the first time. The garage door where the neighbors and my sisters would congregate to play Butt Ball.** The woods where my sisters and I played house and ‘married’ the boy next door. The kitchen where I boiled hot dogs and developed my time-tested recipe of melted American Kraft singles and Deli Salami soup. The closet where I used to shove my clothes into because I hated folding them.

The living room where my sisters and I hosted our own version of WWE and called it Thursday nights.

When I left for college, I vowed to NEVER RETURN to that house in Wyoming. To return would mean death. I was young, independent, with the world’s horizon endlessly stretching beyond me.

I was escaping home and the suffocation of a small town (even though I moved to an even smaller town for college).

I didn’t expect to care that my parents were selling the house that I so eagerly ran away from.

But yet, I did care. I cared a lot.

I drove back on a weekend to help pack, organize my old room – what could be sold, what I would take, what would go to the dump. The room had already been picked through and semi-organized. I remember being embarrassed that my parents had found an old vibrator box and some bad poetry I wrote in Junior High.

It wasn’t until I wandered the house, packing up what made it feel so familiar, that I realized that the Wyoming house wasn’t just a home. It was more an extension of my actual self. Instead of four walls and a roof, the house was a starring character in so many of my memories and coming-of-age experiences.

Here were all the shades of me – a freckled wild-haired gal running the street; my angsty teenage self who said things like, “an eyelash curler is the push-up bra of the face”; the judgy college student I had become.

Four girls, two parents, three dogs, and five cats called that house home over the course of fifteen years. So did Four Furbies, an ancient six-person tent, the teal bicycle I painted one summer and always rode to Cornerstone Bar, an heirloom roller-top desk and stained blue couch, my beloved 5T polka dot overalls, kindergarten drawing of a koala and 3rd grade Ocelot report (to this day, the best drawing of an ocelot I’ve ever completed). An unnerving amount of boxes containing barbies with interesting haircuts and in various stages of undress.

A casual online poll of friends and acquaintances revealed to me that many others feel the same about their parents selling the Childhood Home.

There were some psychopaths who did not care about their precious home being sold to strangers who moved in and painted bedroom walls that used to be papered with Teen Beat pull-outs of JTT, Devon Sawa, and Tyrese. The majority of them cared deeply. As their parents moved into new houses, their children mourned the loss of what they’d called home.

I won’t say that I became an adult when my parents moved out of that childhood home. But I did begin to grapple with my place in the world. I wondered if I would ever have a place ‘to go back to’ if things fell apart. If I ever would have a home again. Clearly, I realized, my judgemental college-self still held plenty of teenage angst.

Almost twenty years later, I’ve been lucky enough to call many places home. While no house will ever feel like an extension of my physical self ever again, it’s nice to know that, as corny as it sounds, home is often where my heart is.

* By renovate, I mean he and a buddy stuck up drywall and then… left it. ** Listen, Butt Ball is pretty self-explanatory. Get yourself a rubber ball and a solid wall. For us, it was the garage door. First determine an order. Who goes first, second, etc. Then, the first person throws the ball against the wall. The second has to catch it and then throw it. The third catches, then throws. On and on. If a person misses their respective catch, they must walk up to and press their nose against the wall. The person who threw before them would then throw the ball at the person. The goal wasn’t just to hit them with the ball. The goal was to hit them in the butt. That was the only way to get them ‘out.’ If you threw the ball and missed or hit them anywhere else, you would be ‘out.’ Continue until only one is left standing.

23

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The Recap

IN 2023, WE HELD OUR ANNUAL PARTY MIDSUMMER AND BRIX BASH WAS A BLAST. FRIENDS ENJOYED DELICIOUS FOOD AND TASTY DRINKS FROM CENTRO (PER USUAL), FACEPAINTING, ZOLTAR!, A VIDEO GAME TRUCK, A MAGIC MIRROR, LIVE MUSIC FROM BLUEWATER KINGS BAND, AND OUR MASCOT, BRIXIE. WANT TO COME NEXT YEAR? TALK TO YOUR BRIX AGENT — THEY’LL HAVE YOUR INVITE!

The

26

W

hen we analyze a market, we want to understand why home prices are going up or down, how fast a home will likely sell, and what homebuyers are snapping up or skipping over.

Consumers today are awash in data on the housing market, and that data is often inexplicable and even contradictory. We’re in the business of giving advice to our clients and we want that advice to be based on all the facts in our arsenal.

The Market Snapshots in the BRIX Report compare the data from 2022 to 2023 and use four key market indicators to give you a sense of trends.

What Do The Numbers Mean?

Days on Market

Month’s Inventory

This is the median number of days from the listing date to the day that the listing broker reports in the MLS that the seller has accepted a contract for purchase. We show Median Days on Market, which represents the point at which half the homes went under contract in fewer days and half went under contract in more days. When the total number of Days on Market decreases from one year to the next, this indicates that it is a “seller’s market,” because buyers are quickly going under contract on homes.

Homes at the upper end of the price range in nearly all communities have longer Days on Market, simply because there are fewer buyers of more expensive homes.

We show this as the active inventory of homes for sale versus the previous twelve months of homes reported as Under Contract. Think of it this way: if the Month’s Inventory is two, this means that the available number of houses would be sold out in two months. This is based on the rate of sales in the past year. A low Month’s Inventory shows that houses are selling quickly. There are fewer buyers for higher-priced homes, so the higher-end market usually has a greater Month’s Inventory.

Median Sales Price

Total Sales

Median represents the point at which half of the homes that sold in a given year were priced higher and half were priced lower. Calculations are based on Sold data and the prices do not account for seller concessions (e.g. a closing cost credit). We don’t use Average Sales Price because even just a small number of very high or very low priced transactions can distort our understanding of the market.

A year-to-year decrease or increase in Median Sales Price needs to be carefully analyzed. In a market with a relatively small number of sales, it may mean that a number of much lower or much higher-priced homes were sold in this year compared to the previous year.

This is a count of the actual sales that have closed in a given year. Calculations are based on Sold data from the Northstar Multiple Listing Service and do not include off-market transactions. A decrease in Total Sales doesn’t necessarily mean that the market is declining, because if the Inventory is low there may simply not be enough houses to meet buyer demand. An increase in Total Sales from one year to the next may reflect a variety of conditions, such as the opening of a major new subdivision or condo building, or a dramatic change in interest rates.

27

Brooklyn Park

Burnsville

Champlin

Columbia Heights

E R

R

P

O

D

T

S

L A

O

E

L

S

N E V

#

28

S

Brooklyn Center

IN

Bloomington

IC

Y

T E K R A M N

Arden Hills

O

Apple Valley

14 days

1.2 months

$360,000

685

27.3%

33.3%

2.9%

-14.6%

11

1.2

$400,000

98

-15.4%

-14.3%

-1.6%

2.1%

14

1.2

$360,000

952

27.3%

33.3%

2.9%

-12.9%

14

1.3

$290,000

321

7.7%

30.0%

3.6%

-23.9%

18

1.3

$335,000

772

38.5%

30.0%

1.8%

35.4%

16

1.1

$356,000

707

33.3%

0.0%

0.3%

-23.4%

18

1.3

$368,750

306

100.0%

18.2%

0.8%

-21.7%

13

1.1

$288,080

234

18.2%

22.2%

-0.7%

-27.3%

Edina

Fridley

Golden Valley

E R

R

P

O

D

T

S

L A

O

E

L

S

N E V

#

Eden Prairie

S

Eagan

IN

Crystal

IC

Y

T E K R A M N

Cottage Grove

O

Coon Rapids

12 days

1.2 months

$325,000

713

0%

33.3%

4.9%

-18.5%

23

2.1

$392,500

614

53.3%

23.5%

-1.4%

-23.9%

12

0.9

$298,049

344

33.3%

12.5%

-2.3%

-14.4%

13

1.3

$375,000

678

8.3%

30.0%

0.0%

-23.1%

16

1.5

$462,000

732

23.1%

15.4%

2.1%

-19.6%

20

2.3

$600,500

723

17.6%

35.3%

2.6%

-21.7%

12

1

$315,000

337

20.0%

11.1%

2.4%

-10.4%

19

1.7

$425,000

307

90.0%

30.8%

0.0%

-11.5%

29

E R

R

P

O

D

T

S

L A

O

E

L

S

N E V

#

30

S

Lake Elmo

IN

Inver Grove Heights

IC

Y

T E K R A M N

Hudson, WI

O

Hopkins

16 days

1.2 months

$325,000

188

-23.1%

20.0%

3.2%

-10.0%

34

2.7

$440,000

268

3.4%

35.0%

0.0%

-28.5%

18

2.1

$350,000

400

38.5%

31.3%

7.7%

-19.5%

32

4.2

$651,887

185

68.4%

100.0%

2.7%

-26.0%

Lake Minnetonka Area

20

2.8

$652,000

877

53.8%

33.3%

2.7%

-4.9%

Lakeville

23

2.7

$485,000

1,078

64.3%

35.0%

0.0%

-18.9%

18

1.7

$325,000

107

12.5%

30.8%

12.1%

-16.4%

17

1.5

$389,300

973

30.8%

25.0%

-2.7%

-23.0%

Little Canada

Maple Grove

E R

R

P

O

D

T

#

S

L A

O

E

L

S

N E V

S

Minneapolis Single-Family

IN

Mendota Heights

IC

Y

T E K R A M N

Medina

O

Maplewood

12 days

1.1 months

$325,000

397

9.1%

10.0%

4.8%

-16.9%

16

2.9

$750,000

120

-11.1%

52.6%

-4.5%

-9.8%

14

2

$500,000

131

-12.5%

0.0%

2.4%

-12.7%

14

1.5

$330,000

3,132

7.7%

15.4%

-1.5%

-22.4%

Minneapolis Townhomes/Condos

55

3.9

$250,000

1,185

5.8%

11.4%

-5.7%

-10.0%

Minnetonka

16

1.7

$465,000

681

23.1%

21.4%

0.6%

-17.1%

14

1.3

$307,000

111

40.0%

44.4%

-6.7%

-17.2%

12

1

$365,000

182

20.0%

25.0%

2.5%

-35.2%

Mounds View

New Brighton

31

Prior Lake

Richfield

Robbinsdale

Rogers

E R

R

P

O

D

T

S

L A

O

E

L

S

N E V

#

32

S

Plymouth

IN

Otsego

IC

Y

T E K R A M N

Oakdale

O

New Hope

15 days

1.1 months

$330,000

189

25.0%

22.2%

-1.5%

-31.3%

14

1.3

$344,000

363

16.7%

44.4%

7.5%

-5.7%

25

2.2

$420,960

480

31.6%

4.8%

-4.3%

-13.8%

15

1.6

$481,250

1,050

25.0%

33.3%

2.6%

-13.3%

20

2.4

$475,000

461

42.9%

33.3%

-4.0%

-15.9%

11

1.0

$336,200

393

9.1%

11.1%

0.4%

-18.3%

11

1.2

$317,000

191

-15.4%

50.0%

3.1%

-31.5%

26

3.5

$430,440

341

62.5%

29.6%

-6.4%

14.0%

South St. Paul

St. Michael

St. Anthony

E R

R

P

O

D

T

S

L A

O

E

L

S

N E V

#

Shorewood

S

Shoreview

IN

Shakopee

IC

Y

T E K R A M N

Savage

O

Roseville

15 days

1.5 months

$340,000

413

15.4%

25.0%

3.0%

-13.4%

18

1.6

$415,000

365

63.6%

33.3%

-1.4%

-26.4%

18

2.2

$385,000

600

38.5%

29.4%

-3.8%

-11.8%

11

1.1

$360,000

343

-8.3%

22.2%

0.0%

-13.8%

16

2.5

$830,000

101

45.5%

38.9%

9.2%

-11.4%

13

0.9

$285,000

210

30.0%

-10.0%

2.5%

-21.3%

25

2.7

$433,652

388

47.1%

17.4%

-0.2%

-11.8%

17

1.2

$380,000

115

6.3%

0.0%

2.7%

5.5%

33

E #

S

O

E S

A

L

E IN

V

L

S

N

D

T

P

O

R

R

IC

Y

T E K R A M N

St. Paul Single-Family

O

St. Louis Park

14 days

1.5 months

$375,000

696

16.7%

36.4%

4.2%

-16.0%

13

1.2

$287,700

2,255

0.0%

0.0%

0.6%

-23.3%

St. Paul Townhomes/Condos

39

3.3

$240,000

507

5.4%

32.0%

5.7%

-7.0

Stillwater

18

2.1

$416,000

262

38.5%

50.0%

-17.6%

-33.0%

18

2

$350,000

166

80.0%

100.0%

-2.8%

-17.8%

26

3.8

$1,175,000

79

30.0%

35.7%

0.0%

-9.2%

15

1.2

$307,000

231

50.0%

20.0%

3.2%

-1.3%

10

1.3

$340,000

276

11.1%

62.5%

2.6%

-32.0%

22

2.1

$455,000

1,146

69.2%

40.0%

1.1%

-9.0%

34

Vadnais Heights

Wayzata

West St. Paul

White Bear Lake

Woodbury

The

13 COUNTY METRO AREA ON MARKET

INVENTORY

18 days

1.9 months

28.6%

26.7%

SALES PRICE

# SOLD

$370,000

43,511

1.4%

-17.7%

35

How to Think About 2024

by Adam Duckwall

How many times have you heard a realtor say, “It’s a great time to buy?” If you haven’t heard this, perhaps you’ve never met a realtor. I promise you will not find those words below.

Home ownership is a personal decision and is not right for everyone, or at all times. 2023 was an extremely difficult time to enter the housing market or to transition to a new home. 2024 will likely be better…marginally. Here’s why: Where We’ve Been

36

Due to a sharp decrease in home affordability, 2023 began with declining home values. The decrease in affordability was a direct result of the Federal Reserve (The Fed)’s seven deliberate Federal Funds Rate increases in 2022.

2023 would bring four more increases, finally capping in July. Trying to stamp out runaway inflation and seeing the housing sector as a major culprit, the Fed had every intention of throwing a bucket of ice water on the aggressively increasing housing market. To the surprise of many, however, home values stubbornly managed an upward turn yet again in 2023. According to the CaseSchiller Home Price Index, in the Twin Cities, beginning in March, home prices rose every month through October (the last month reporting).

The National Association of Realtors’ Home Affordability Index hit a low of 91.4 in October of last year. 100 on the index indicates that a median income family has exactly enough income to afford a median price home, based on the most recent price and income data. Any number below 100 on the index indicates a lack of ability to do the same.

For perspective, in 2020, that index was at 169.9. This means the median income family had ~1.7x the necessary income to purchase a median price home. Buyers now have less than 54% of the buying power that they had in 2020. Think about that for a moment… Homebuyers are hurting. Those who are still willing to purchase are paying a premium to do so, and many are simply being pushed out of the market due to a lack of affordability.

2023 closed sales in the Twin Cities were down 18% from the previous year and down 33% from 2021. Despite the

shrinking of the buyer pool, values still increased. Let’s look at why this happened.

According to Freddie Mac’s December Economic, Housing and Mortgage Market Outlook, “mortgage rate lock-in effect froze the housing market.” The report points out that 60% of US homeowners have a mortgage interest rate of 4% or less. Mortgage rates which saw historic lows in January of 2021 (under 3%), have risen to 23 year highs by late 2023 (over 8%). As a result, potential sellers, being unwilling to list their homes and depart their low interest rate mortgages, were effectively “rate locked”.

The already inventory-dry housing market exacerbated by the “lock-in effect” added to supply and demand pressures.

That, coupled with resilient consumers armed with postpandemic savings, helped keep home sale prices high and even increasing throughout 2023.

What’s ahead?

Everyone you talk to these days seems to be an expert on mortgage interest rate forecasting. There are plenty of theories, predictions, and speculation, but we only know what we know. The Fed with its dual mandate of achieving maximum employment and price stability, uses the Federal Funds Rate as its primary tool to fight inflation.

Despite great improvements, the Fed is still trying to bring inflation down further. To curb inflation, the Fed raises the Funds Rate. After several bank failures, however, the Fed halted Funds Rate increases last July, fearing they had potentially overcorrected. In December, the Fed signaled that it intended to drop the Funds Rate three times in 2024. Within hours, the marketplace started to interpret this policy shift and began speculating that there would be far more rate drops in 2024 than the Fed suggested.

The Fed then reacted to the market’s interpretation by backpedaling and emphasizing a more conservative approach to rate drops. If this seems like a game of cat and mouse, you would be right.

The Fed wants to achieve a “soft landing”, meaning that inflation is brought down via the tightening of monetary policy to acceptable levels (2% is the Fed’s target), without triggering a recession. According to Alan Blinder’s 2023 article, "Landings, Soft and Hard: The Federal Reserve, 1965–2022" in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, this is very difficult to achieve and has only happened once in the last 60 years. This infrequency is important because it should be considered alongside the Fed’s plan and messaging. Of course the Fed would always prefer a “Soft Landing” over a “Hard Landing”, but in reality this doesn’t happen very often.

Imagine balancing 3 balls on top of each other in a hail storm. This balancing act is similar to the Fed’s job — every action has multiple reactions. An overcorrection can either be exactly what is needed — or disastrous. Oh yes, don’t forget the hail and wind! There are going to be unexpected external influences that you may try to predict or prepare for, but in reality, you don’t know what is coming or when. Let’s give the Fed some due props here.

They have a tough job.

What happens if things start to get out of control in this balancing act? You guessed it: corrections, overcorrections, evasive action. For example, if the Fed thought that it was losing its control of the “soft landing” and saw a recession in its sights, it would not be surprising to see far more aggressive Federal Funds Rate drops than what is currently planned. Do not mistake this for a prediction, this is only an example of how things could quickly or unexpectedly divert from the plan.

The Fed’s plan for 2024 is a slow and measured relaxation of the Federal Funds Rate which would result in slightly lower mortgage interest rates. This will not be anything earth-shattering as long as things go according to the Fed’s “Soft Landing” plan. Most economists expect these rate drops to occur in the second half of the year, meaning that mortgage rates will be fairly stable in the first half of the year and start moving downward slowly in Q3 and Q4.

What does this mean for our market?

Most homebuyers are struggling right now, but none worse than first-time buyers who face low inventory and high interest rates without the benefit of high post-pandemic net sale proceeds to fill their down-payment pockets.

Rates will likely come down, but not by leaps and bounds.

Therefore first-time buyers are going to remain in tough territory in 2024 with perhaps the greatest relief simply coming from the cyclical downturn of the market which happens in the second half of the year. This coupled with

slightly decreasing interest rates will some help some would-be buyers cross the threshold of affordability and enter or re-enter the market.

Perhaps this is why Zillow predicted that in 2024, the new starter home would be a single-family rental. No, this does not mean people are purchasing investment properties as starter homes. Rather than buying their first home, people are choosing to rent their first home. This is all about affordability. On a monthly basis, it costs more to own than to rent a home right now. Yes, there are other financial, tax, and personal benefits to home ownership that may offset higher monthly costs, but for most firsttime buyers, the monthly cost of renting vs. the monthly cost of ownership, is an important launching point. Due to the increased demand for rental housing, the rental market should remain strong and gain further strength in 2024.

Remember the “rate lock-in effect”? With historically low interest rates further and further in the rear view mirror, homeowners are acclimating to the higher rate environment and accepting that rates will likely remain higher for longer. There is plenty of pent-up desire and demand for new housing as a result of the lock-in effect.

Realizing that a return of ultra-low interest rates is likely a pipedream (at least in the short to medium term), current homeowners’ desire to make a change is superseding their desire to get a low interest rate for their new home.

Effectively sellers are willing to make a lifestyle-based choice over a financial one. The expected slightlydecreasing mortgage rates will bring some relief and help make this decision even easier.

This will help relax inventory constraints. However, many would-be homesellers with solid cash reserves and low interest rate mortgages may choose to keep their existing homes as rental properties after purchasing (or possibly renting) a new home themselves.

The National Association of Realtors predicts a 13.5% increase in the number of home sales in 2024 over 2023 and believes that home values will remain relatively stable.

Zillow predicts that more homes will be listed for sale and all indicators discussed above agree with this. With rates on the decline and increased inventory, 2024 should prove to be a more navigable environment for buyers.

With increased inventory, sellers should prepare for increased competition and marketing times. Sellers should beware of overpricing as buyers will have increasing options and multiple offers will serve a declining role in 2024 home sales.

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Contributors Kristy Hanson

luke finsaas

WR IT ER / EDITOR / ILLUSTRATOR

DESIGNER / WRITER

Kristy Hanson is a freelance writer, designer, and developer based in Amsterdam, formerly of the Twin Cities. She’s the author of Karma, A Love Story, contributor and co-editor of the Book of Admiration, and is still proud of the math award she won in the sixth grade. Visit kristyleehanson.com to view her other projects and see what she’s been up to.

Luke Finsaas is a writer, designer, and developer from the Twin Cities. Find more of his work at lfinsaas.com.

BRANDI BROWN WRITER

Brandi Brown is a comedian, writer and business strategist from Minneapolis, MN. She enjoys making crop art for the Minnesota State Fair in her free time.

Tracy Mumford WRITER

Tracy Mumford is a podcast producer and writer based in Minneapolis. She has made/is making Don’t Ask Tig, Julie’s Library, The Slowdown, Decomposed, Spectacular Failures and the Peabody Award-winning 74 Seconds. She works at The New York Times. Follow her on Twitter at @mumfordmumford.

Dall-e

Andy Sturdevant WRITER

Andy Sturdevant is an artist and writer living in Minneapolis. He has written about art, history and culture for a variety of Twin Cities-based publications and websites, including ArchitectureMN, Mpls. St. Paul, MinnPost, Apology, The Smudge, The Growler and others.

"ILLUSTRATOR"

Most illustrations in this magazine were generated with DALL-E, a generative AI model from OpenAI.

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